CD Review: Keith Murray, Rap-Murr-Phobia
Sep 25, 2007 3:18 PM Max Herman (Writer)
To most, Keith Murray is a
name of the past—a heated MC of the mid-'90s who was clever enough to make up
his own words (for example, "beautifullest") and have everyone
singing along. Since those glory days, Murray has considerably fallen out of
the hip-hop spotlight. Although with his fifth album, Rap-Murr-Phobia, this
Long Island native attempts to reclaim his fame on this thorough yet
not-so-surprising new effort. After all these years and a number of legal woes,
Murray has still got a youthful gusto. And with the help of producer Erick
Sermon, he covers a variety of styles on this oddly titled album—including
R&B-flavored radio hits ("Nobody Do It Better") and punchy posse
cuts ("Nobody"). While most of these tracks get the job done, they
don’t offer much evolution from what Murray's been doing since '94. No doubt
key songs like the reggae-tinged "Hustle On" reveal much about this
MC's hard-knock past while also providing some top-notch production. But what
this album is missing is the inventiveness that made Murray famous. Without it,
he leaves an adequate, albeit only temporary, impression.
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